You Ask, We Reply: Upcoming Tanks

Our latest round of “You Ask, We Reply” answers are now available! For this particular topic we asked you to submit questions regarding upcoming tanks, with an emphasis on French tanks where possible. We'll be posting this in a two-part series this week, due to a few answers being delayed, so let's get on with part one of the Q&A!

You Ask, We Reply: Upcoming Tanks

Why was it decided to use the rear-mounted superstructure version of the still-to-be-added StuG E100 instead of the forward mounted superstructure version?

Since it was never produced in real life and existed only in blue-prints in both variants (rear- and forward-mounted), we selected the one, which corresponds more to physics and tank engineering. The forward-mounted version is not able to support the gun which this vehicle was designed to use.

We know that most French tanks never entered the war. How will the French tanks be better than the legendary Tiger, KingTiger, Panther and Maus?

They will be neither worse nor better, they will be different. In addition – according to research done by The Chieftain – the French actually had some of the best designed tanks of the second war. Unfortunately they were not able to reach viable production levels with them.

Is it true that the French SPGs will only support a maximum of a 150mm gun?

Since the French SPG will be introduced in late January, we can’t give you any details with regards their characteristics at this time. The case is that in 7.1 we will add only the following tanks, which were balanced and are more or less ready to enter the SuperTest. SPGs were not and their current characteristics and modules are still in flux.

Here is the final list of French tanks which will enter the game in 7.1:

They will enter neither in 7.0 nor in 7.1. But they are still planned for 7.x

Is it true in the future we will have a tree with tanks from Hungary, Romania, Poland, Finland and Italy called the tree of Europe?

Yes, there will be a European tree, but I can’t tell you the final set of countries for it. There will be Italian, Swedish and Polish tanks for sure, Romania and Hungary – probably. But this tree is not in development yet, just planned.

The change designated in first quarter of 2012 for Russian tanks (Heavies) shows there is a split between the tanks KV-1, and KV-2. My question is, after the separation of the two tanks, will the statistics that were present on [KV] tank be allocated to the KV-1 or KV-2 tank in the statistics overview? Or will the statistics stay on its original [KV] tank name.

Statistics will be preserved for KV tank; KV-2 tanks will start off with no battle statistics.

The Sturmtiger is confirmed to be equipped with 360mm naval mortar, and historically, the type4 HaTo (possibly the tier 8 Japanese SPG) fired a 300mm rocket projectile. The question is, will rockets be implemented into World of Tanks in the near or distant future? In addition, what other weapon types may we possibly be encountering in World of Tanks? (i.e mines, machine guns, secondary turrets… etc.)

The Sturmtiger will have a 380mm gun. Both mentioned vehicles do not fire rockets or missiles, but rocket-propelled projectiles. This is not a new weapon, but new ammunition. For now there are no plans to add new types of weapons.

Once the T30 becomes a tank destroyer – which it is expected to in the first quarter of 2012 – how will the characteristics change in relation to its drop in tier number? [10 -> 9]

Once the IS-4 becomes a tier 10 heavy what changes are to be made to the tank? To be honest, the IS-4 is a superior tier 9 currently; however by shifting it into a tier 10 cost slot, I would think, although I don't own one myself, it will be underpowered. What changes characteristic-wise are to be made to the tank?

T30 as a TD and IS-4 as a Tier 10 are under balancing now and there are no firm characteristics for now, so I cannot answer your question.

Regarding balancing the tanks: we don’t want to go far from the historical background for tanks, but we can tweak the parameters made for games specifically (for example, hit points)

How will we control tanks with two turrets? I've been wondering about that, will the cannons be assigned different buttons or will they both be fired with Mouse1? And how will the M3 with turret work, since surely a 20mm fires faster than the 75mm; just wondering.

We are testing different variants now, so I cannot give you any firm information. Do not worry; we will make it the most comfortable possible for players, for all of the present and future tanks, including M3.

Can we get updated Tech Trees posted to the Website?

They are posted on the website (check the full tank trees in the ART section of the Portal)

Will all the currently listed (in tech trees) "Retail" tanks be in the Collector’s Edition?

At this time we do not have any information to share regarding the Collector’s Edition of World of Tanks. We’ll be sure to announce once we have details on it.

That said, we’ve been looking closely at feedback players have had on the retail box version of World of Tanks, and will take that into consideration.

How is the T28 Prototype different from the T28?

Unfortunately, we cannot give any details regarding it now.

Can you tell the exact status of French tanks? Are they in SuperTest, or otherwise?

For now we have them in internal testing. A few weeks after the 7.0 release, you will be able to try them out on the Open test.

The Lorraine 40t has very low armor; how are you going to balance it against the other Tier 9s?

Please take in account that it has an auto-loading device and will be capable of firing multiple shots, before the need to reload. Also, low armor=less weight=>more speed.

Can we have a video please? I really want to see the autoloader gun in action...

We will probably release a promo-video once French tanks enter the Open test.

When will the M18 Hellcat be released? Do you have any screens on the M18 Hellcat yet?

We can’t provide you any screenshots for now. M18 is currently planned to be released in Q1 2012.

Any news on tier 10 Tank Destroyers and Medium tanks? Will the US get a second Heavy line? Will the US get a second medium line? (up to tier 9?) Are there any plans to add more lines to the french tree other than the projected lines?

We have a lot of tanks announced and planned for development for now. We don’t want to add any more, till we finish the major part of our current plans.

The French High-tier "medium tanks" basically have no armor, so what kind of other characteristics can we expect from them?

Fast speed and auto-loading; their tactics will be something like “Hit, hit, hit, hit, hit… RUN!!!”

Are there any plans to release tier 6 and tier 7 premium vehicles?

There are many Premium vehicles announced with no certain Tier setting.

Why is there tier 6 and tier 7 light tanks in the French tech tree? Are they going to be well armored, faster and have better weapons than VK2801/T-50-2/Chaffee? Are there any plans for further light tanks such as the M41 Walker Bulldog and the PT-76?

They will be balanced with existing Tier 5 LT. Moreover Tier 7 LT will be closer to Medium tanks than to Light tanks. Tier 6-7 LT will actually stand between LT and MT.

What other Chinese premium tanks are you planning on adding? I heard the Type 62; anything else?

Yes, we are planning to add Type 62 Light tank and some more vehicles to the Chinese tank branch. All of them will be Premium tanks.

Is there any difference between a captured tank and its normal version? For example: the difference between the PzKpfw KV-1 756 (r) and the current KV-1?

There will be some differences, but I cannot give you any details now.

Are there any plans to release the KV-220 as a premium tank for the EU and NA servers?

We won’t add it for sale, but will probably distribute it as a unique tank for some special offers.

How do you decide on which tanks to include in World of Tanks’ tech trees? Can you give us all a little insight into the procedure of its design?

First, project managers decide that we need, for example, Tier 8 SPG. This task goes to the Military Consultants. They look through documentation and search a vehicle that can be used for this task. Once project managers and game designers decided, which of possible variants will be in the game, consultants start to search all archives for schemes, blueprints and sketches not only of the vehicle, but its modules: engines, turrets, guns etc.

Once all information is found, it goes to the 2D and 3D artists. They model the vehicle and pass it to game designers, who give the tank it historical characteristics. Then it starts bouncing from testers to Game Designers and vice versa, till the vehicle will be more or less balanced. Than we add it to the SuperTest, than Open test, and, finally, add it to the update.

Will the XP price for the VK2801 be lowered to around 35,000xp?

There are no plans to change the XP cost of VK2801

I see that the VK3601 will be switched from a medium to a heavy tank. Will anything on the tank be changed other than the designation? What will happen to the crew and any installed equipment?

We are now considering different variant, once we select a firm one, we will announce them.

When is the Sturmtiger going to be added?

Unfortunately, we cannot give you any ETA

The Nashorn, I heard, is essentially a TD version of the Hummel (although the existing Hummel can play as a TD in some cases). Will the Nashorn retain the historical armor values? 30mm frontal armor seems pretty weak for a Tank Destroyer.

We cannot provide you any certain characteristics, but even if it will receive such characteristics of armor, in some other parameters he will be better than his counterparts.

Will we be calling the British tree “The British tree” or “The Commonwealth” tree? I'm hoping for the latter, seeing as it makes my country a part of it. Will the British Centurion really have the speed of 34km/h? If so, will it be a medium or a heavy? The Pre-Alpha British tree shows the Archer being included. If this tank makes it into final release, how will you design it gameplay wise, considering its gun is facing backwards?

Since it is still a long time before we announce the tree, we can’t tell you exactly. But we can say that the Tech Tree will consist mainly of British tanks, while premiums will be from other Commonwealth countries. Regarding the ‘Archer tank’ - well, we will find a way. Currently I can’t tell you any details on characteristics of the tanks.

What are the armor values for the T10 French heavy (include both raw and effective values)? What will said tank's power-to-weight ratio be?

You will receive this information once Open Test receives French Tanks.

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